Budget GPU

[bobhays]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if it would be better to get a 650ti boost, or a 7850 (similar pricing) or a r7-260x. I hear that the 260x is similar to a 7790, so a 7850 would be better at the same price ($140).

 

The 7850 also comes with 2 games, and the 7790 comes with 1.

 

Or is it worth saving the extra 80 ish and getting a 660 or 7950 (my processor is most likely gonna be the 6300 or an i3, leaning toward the fx)

P.S I can buy from Newegg, NCIX, Tigerdirect, Amazon, and DO have a Microcenter nearby.

 

EDIT: On newegg I found the 7850 for 130, and the 260x for 150 with shipping and the 650ti boost for 110.

 

[Ashley]

7950 is a great value right now. Otherwise try to get a 7870/7850.

[Emperor_Piehead]

Get the 7850(or 7870 if you can find it for $150) and a fx 6300. If you really want to you can get a 7950.

[whatthe_fuzz]

7950 can be found for less than $180

[Ryan Leech]

I would get a GTX 660

 

[bobhays]

7950 can be found for less than $180

Can you show me where you can find one for this price?

[bobhays]

I would get a GTX 660

Would you care to elaborate?

[Ryan Leech]

Would you care to elaborate?

[whatthe_fuzz]

Can you show me where you can find one for this price?

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#c=71&sort=a5

 

check there. it changes frequently

[mememo]

Go for the 7850 but if you watch out for some sales you should be able to pick up a 7870 cheap it preforms about 5-10% better than the 660 in most games

[beefalo]

Newegg has a 660 on sale for $150AR right now. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-TechBargains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16814130826

 

Edit:  Also a 7870 for $160.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-TechBargains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16814131484

[WoodenMarker]

For some perspective

650 Ti BOOST < 660 < 7850 < 7870 < 7950

[bobhays]

For some perspective

650 Ti BOOST < 660 < 7850 < 7870 < 7950

Are you sure? I think the 7850 is lower than the 600.

[bobhays]

According to this graph, the 650ti boost is within 10% for the 660, even in SLI. According to this a 650ti boost would be the smartest option with the ability to SLI down the road.

[WoodenMarker]

Are you sure? I think the 7850 is lower than the 600.

The 7850 oc's better. What I posted has oc'ing in mind because you should always be oc'ing.

[bobhays]

The 7850 oc's better. What I posted has oc'ing in mind because you should always be oc'ing.

According to the benchmark posted, the 7850 is lower than the 650ti boost. Is this just because the game is very nvidia optimized?

I remember seeing some other games where the 7850 was nearly the same as 660 (stock). 

[WoodenMarker]

According to the benchmark posted, the 7850 is lower than the 650ti boost. Is this just because the game is very nvidia optimized?

I remember seeing some other games where the 7850 was nearly the same as 660 (stock). 

Not sure but the benchmarks are from stock cards.

[helping]

According to the benchmark posted, the 7850 is lower than the 650ti boost. Is this just because the game is very nvidia optimized?

I remember seeing some other games where the 7850 was nearly the same as 660 (stock). 

Nope, like WoodenMarker said the 7850 is better than the 660. The 7850 can pull of some seriously good overclocking, the 660 won't overclock to save kittens. 

 

If you're going to never overclock then the 660 is better if you can get it at a similar price, however historically the 660 was even worse of an investment since it had unreasonably high prices. 

[Stephie_Girl]

I would get a GTX 660

 

This is the worst graph I've ever seen.  Xfire HD 7790's with 1GB of total Vram can render textures better and faster than an HD 7950 with 3GB of Vram?  At 1680x1050 you're going to be using 1.2-1.4GB of Vram on Max Settings even with x1 AA.  So where-ever you got these graphs from please tell them to try this test again.

 

Here is the latest Crysis 3 graph from all the current GPU's, as you can see the GTX 760 even is behind the HD 7950: 

 

 

[JAKEBAB]

go 7850 or higher because mantle.

[bobhays]

This is the worst graph I've ever seen.  Xfire HD 7790's with 1GB of total Vram can render textures better and faster than an HD 7950 with 3GB of Vram?  At 1680x1050 you're going to be using 1.2-1.4GB of Vram on Max Settings even with x1 AA.  So where-ever you got these graphs from please tell them to try this test again.

 

Here is the latest Crysis 3 graph from all the current GPU's, as you can see the GTX 760 even is behind the HD 7950: Graph.png

 

 

go 7850 or higher because mantle.

 

 

Nope, like WoodenMarker said the 7850 is better than the 660. The 7850 can pull of some seriously good overclocking, the 660 won't overclock to save kittens. 

 

If you're going to never overclock then the 660 is better if you can get it at a similar price, however historically the 660 was even worse of an investment since it had unreasonably high prices. 

 

Seeing the benchmarks makes me believe that the price/performance of the 650ti boost is great and thats what I'm leaning towards, with a high chance of future SLI. Do the 7850's scale as well without frame time variance? I know that in general nvidia is better with the time variance but AMD has released some drivers to lower that. Also 2 650ti boosts will cost about $60 less, but the 7850's do support mantle. Do you guys see mantle as becoming an important factor within the next few years?

[Artorias]

Seeing the benchmarks makes me believe that the price/performance of the 650ti boost is great and thats what I'm leaning towards, with a high chance of future SLI. Do the 7850's scale as well without frame time variance? I know that in general nvidia is better with the time variance but AMD has released some drivers to lower that. Also 2 650ti boosts will cost about $60 less, but the 7850's do support mantle. Do you guys see mantle as becoming an important factor within the next few years?

I'm assuming that you'll be upgrading your system in the future w/ 2 cards running in either Xfire or SLI. I would highly suggest to just run a single powerful card rather than adding another card in the future.

[JAKEBAB]

Seeing the benchmarks makes me believe that the price/performance of the 650ti boost is great and thats what I'm leaning towards, with a high chance of future SLI. Do the 7850's scale as well without frame time variance? I know that in general nvidia is better with the time variance but AMD has released some drivers to lower that. Also 2 650ti boosts will cost about $60 less, but the 7850's do support mantle. Do you guys see mantle as becoming an important factor within the next few years?

yes i see mantle becoming a huge thing in the coming years but with the xbox one not supporting mantle i dont see direct x going away to the extent i thought it would before i found out the xbox one wont support mantle so maybe the 650ti boost would be better it deffinatley will be better for sli due to frame timing but within saying that having 2 cards isnt always the best option most people like to sell there old card and buy one better card so yea this isnt really an exact answer but its options for u to think about and only u can choose as there isnt really a complete answer in this situation.

[bobhays]

I'm assuming that you'll be upgrading your system in the future w/ 2 cards running in either Xfire or SLI. I would highly suggest to just run a single powerful card rather than adding another card in the future.

 

 

yes i see mantle becoming a huge thing in the coming years but with the xbox one not supporting mantle i dont see direct x going away to the extent i thought it would before i found out the xbox one wont support mantle so maybe the 650ti boost would be better it deffinatley will be better for sli due to frame timing but within saying that having 2 cards isnt always the best option most people like to sell there old card and buy one better card so yea this isnt really an exact answer but its options for u to think about and only u can choose as there isnt really a complete answer in this situation.

Would a 7950/660 ti out perform two 650ti boost's/7850's in SLI?

[7850OC]

go 7850 or higher because mantle.

 

you just read my mind lol  :lol: i am so happy with AMD